Navarathri Neivedyam I - Wheat Katli

The best part of any festival is that it would bring with it a certain contagious enthusiasm. Navarathri generally signifies the victory of good over the evil according to Hindu mythology. It would kick-start a flurry of activities in most Hindu households in Tamil Nadu. Planning would start much ahead of the actual nine days. Houses would be cleaned up meticulously, the ‘kolu padi’ (kolu steps) or any other arrangement would be kept ready, the dolls dusted with a soft cloth, mental list of attendees for ‘vettalai-paakku’ would be finalized, neivedyam for all nine days decided ahead and the needed ingredients stocked, etc etc.. Neivedyams would be prepared on a daily basis and shared with family and friends.

This year I plan to celebrate Navarathri here in my little way with nine varieties of offerings – one for each day. I want to make simple neivedyam for Devi, it is my little way of showing my love for her. However, the only chief difference is that I would try to blog about it, that too daily. Let me see if I can pull it off.

So, here we go.

Neivedyam Day I – Wheat Katlis

Ingredients:

Wheat flour (atta): ¾ cup
Sugar: ¾ cup
Water: 1/3 cup
Ghee: 3- 4 tbsp
Elaichi (powdered): a big pinch

Method

Take a heavy bottomed kadai.
Heat about 2 tbsp of ghee and roast the wheatflour till it gives out a great aroma.
Keep aside.
Now, add the sugar and the water. Let it come to a rolling boil.
Add the elaichi powder and the wheat flour.
Stir constantly so that no lumps form.
You will see in a while that the mass is becoming a little stiffer.
Do a little test with your finger tips. Take a small bit of the mass. Let is cool for a while and try rolling it into a loose ball.
If it does not gather itself, then stir for some more time. Else, remove from fire immediately.
Stir a couple of minutes more, even after the stove has been switched off.
Let the mass cool down for about 5 – 10 minutes.
Once done, knead it to form a smooth dough. Add 1 tbsp of ghee if you feel like.
Roll it on the counter using a rolling pin and make diamonds (katlis) out of it.
If you feel the dough has become stiff, add some milk or water and knead patiently. It will come together as an elastic mass once again. Then roll and make katlis
Offer it to Devi.
Enjoy! This neivedyam finds its way to 'Only' Festive Food Event conceptualised by Pari and hosted this month by Preeti.